Blogs

Our blogs provide fresh, impassioned and authoritative commentary and insight about the variety of civil-liberties issues that the ACLU of Michigan takes up each day in our courts, governments and communities.

Get Involved

With the help of dedicated volunteers and community activists, the ACLU of Michigan works to raise awareness about the importance of preserving the individual rights and liberties that are guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

Get Help

The ACLU of Michigan is one of more than 50 affiliates in the United States. As such, we encourage you to know as much as possible about your civil liberties. Further, if you feel those liberties have been violated, we suggest you submit a complaint. We only accept complaints that occur within the State of Michigan. If your complaint arose in a state other than Michigan, you must contact the ACLU office in that state.

About Us

Since our founding in 1920, the American Civil Liberties Union has led the fight to conserve our most precious liberties. Through the passion of our supporters, we have grown from a roomful of civil liberties activists to an organization of more than 500,000 active members and supporters with 54 state affiliate offices as well as a legislative office in Washington, DC.

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About Us

Since our founding in 1920, the American Civil Liberties Union has led the fight to conserve our most precious liberties. Through the passion of our supporters, we have grown from a roomful of civil liberties activists to an organization of more than 500,000 active members and supporters with 54 state affiliate offices as well as a legislative office in Washington, DC.

ACLU of Michigan Volunteer Opportunities

The ACLU of Michigan has opportunities in multiple communities across the state for people interested in volunteering their time and resources to address civil rights and civil liberties issues where they live. No matter where you live in Michigan, we need your help! Please complete our volunteer form.

The ACLU of Michigan has six local units across the state, including five geographic units representing metro Detroit (Wayne, Macomb and Washtenaw), Oakland County area, greater Flint, the Lansing area, and West Michigan (including Grand Rapids and regional communities north and south). We also have a statewide unit known as the Tuition Equality Local Unit. Local Units are groups of ACLU members who partner with supporters and community allies on rights and liberties issues where they live. Local units focus on three activity areas:

Activism

Public Education & Awareness

Engagement & Recruitment

Each local unit works on projects that fall into one or more of these categories. If you are interested in getting involved with the local unit in your area we encourage you to review the unit’s planned activities below and contact us to find out more information.

RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP

Local Units

The ACLU is committed to a strong local presence in communities across Michigan. We believe that our members should be empowered to address key civil rights and civil liberties issues that matter most to them. We are committed to building an effective local, grassroots presence to generate networks that are engaged with the ACLU mission, reach into a broad swath of communities, and help inform our work. Most importantly, the expertise and connections members bring to bear are invaluable to our organization. To further these important goals, the ACLU is sponsoring volunteer activity through the development of Local Units. The primary purpose of a local unit is to advance the priorities of the ACLU at a local level across the state through outcome-focused advocacy work.

Volunteers are critical to the ACLU because they enhance our work in a variety of ways. Volunteers play an important role as opinion leaders in their communities where they can advocate for local ordinances, document civil liberties violations, generate story-telling content, assist with legislative outreach, build influential local coalitions, raise public awareness about emerging issues, and build leadership skills. A group of ACLU members may apply for status as a local unit of the ACLU to the ACLU State Board. For more information on volunteer opportunities with the ACLU of Michigan and how to apply for local unit status, contact ACLU of Michigan Field Director, Rodd Monts at rmonts@aclumich.org.

Local Unit Activities

Greater Flint ACLU Local Unit

Public Education and Awareness Activities

This unit collaborates with community partners to promote awareness of student rights, the rights of LGBT people, racial, ethnic and religious minorities and those accused by law enforcement through periodic community events and seminars annually.

Engagement and Recruitment Activities

Law Day “Know Your Rights” events for local students and parents; and Constitution Day “Know Your Rights” events for students and community residents concerned about interaction with police.

Annual dinner event for networking with residents across the state, promoting the work of the ACLU, and recruiting new members.

Lansing Area ACLU Local Unit

Public Education and Awareness Activities

This unit’s Racial Justice Committee partners with various community organizations to host forums and events that focus on police/community relations and policing policies that ensure the protection of civil liberties and civil rights.

The School-to-Prison Pipeline (STPP) Committee organizes panel discussions on school discipline, student rights and alternative behavior management strategies, as well as “Know Your Rights” events in Lansing area communities.

Metro Detroit ACLU Local Unit

Public Education and Awareness Activities

The ACLU Detroit Metro STPP Committee works to educate students, parents, educators and other concerned adults about STPP issues. Through public awareness “Know Your Rights” events and social media, members aim to reach hundreds of families over the next year.

Through a series of “Friday Forums” the unit seeks to increase public awareness of local and national civil rights and civil liberties issues. The events are organized and run by volunteers typically feature prominent local leaders as participants, and provides residents an opportunity to engage in frank dialogue on issues of the day.

Marriage equality and religious freedom is another public education project Metro Detroit unit members are undertaking. The unit has a project focused on increasing awareness among faith leaders and religious groups about their freedom to exercise their rights and meet obligations of anti-discrimination laws related to same-sex marriage through a series of public forums.

Engagement and Recruitment Activities

The unit’s Special Events Committee organizes and hosts a variety of fun social functions throughout the year for members and supporters, as well as individuals interested in networking or learning more about our work. These include an annual Thanksgiving Parade viewing party, outings to sporting events, and gatherings at local eateries.

Oakland County ACLU Local Unit

Public Education and Awareness Activities

ACLU Oakland STPP Committee works to educate students, parents, educators and other concerned adults across the county about STPP issues. Through public awareness “Know Your Rights” events and social media, members aim to reach hundreds of families over the next year.

Engagement and Recruitment Activities

The unit’s ACLU in the Town Square project team conducts public education and outreach activities at multiple events in the Oakland County area to increase knowledge of civil rights and liberties issues and to engage more people in our work.

Tuition Equality Local Unit

Activism

Through this statewide project volunteers in multiple communities, including undocumented students, their parents, and many concerned activists working collaboratively to change tuition policies at community colleges and universities across Michigan to allow resident undocumented students to pay in-district tuition.

ACLU of Michigan Western Local Unit

Activism

The Western Local Unit identifies pressing civil rights and liberties issues that threaten certain residents and work to change policies. For instance, the unit launched a successful campaign to get the Grand Rapids City Commission to introduce a policy better protect citizens’ privacy. The unit frequently engages residents and community groups in these efforts.

Public Education and Awareness Activities

The unit has an active Events Committee that organizes and hosts a number of forums and presentations on police-community relations, immigration, LGBT rights, the mass incarceration crisis, education, women’s rights and other issues throughout the year. The committee works to tackle community concerns and partners with local groups to organize events on subjects that matter to residents, and puts on an event honoring the Civil Libertarian of the Year for the region.

Engagement and Recruitment Activities

The Western Local Unit is also active in several cool and creative community engagement activities including a benefit concert in collaboration with radio station WYCE, and co-sponsorship of a social justice-themed exhibit at ARTPRIZE, in coordination with the Fountain Street Church, to increase awareness of the organization’s work and to connect with people who want to be involved in some way.

Use Your Voice

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Letters to the editor can be a powerful way to educate the community on important issues, particularly when sent as part of a strategic campaign.

TIPS FOR LETTER WRITING

Keep letters as brief as possible. A short letter, fewer than 200 words, is less likely to be edited and more likely to be read.

Always include your full name, address and daytime telephone number for confirmation purposes.

Submit your letter at least 3-5 days in advance of when you hope to have the letter appear. Be aware that most papers have a policy regarding frequency of submission, usually no more than one letter per month.

BECOME A CITIZEN LOBBYIST

Renew your membership today to help defend civil liberties and the fundamental principles of our Constitution.

Contacting your Representative or Senator can really make a difference.

HOW TO PLAN AN EFFECTIVE MEETING WITH YOUR ELECTED OFFICIAL

Requesting your meeting

Make your request in writing and follow up with a call to the Appointment Secretary/Scheduler.

Let them know what issue and legislation (by bill number, if you have one) you wish to discuss.

Make sure they know that you are a constituent.

Preparing for your meeting

Decide who will attend the meeting. Keep it small, but bring people who represent different groups that have an interest in the legislation like doctors, veterans, religious leaders, school board members, etc.

Agree on talking points. It's tough to make a strong case for your position when you are disagreeing in the meeting.

Plan out your meeting. Time is limited. Be sure that you lay out the meeting beforehand, including who will start the conversation.

Decide what you want to achieve. Asking your legislator or his or her staff member to do something specific will help you know how successful your visit has been.

During the meeting

Be prompt and patient.

Keep it short and focused. You will have 20 minutes or less with a staff person, and as little as 10 minutes if you meet with your elected official.

Be positive. Start the meeting by thanking the legislator for any votes he or she has made in support of your issues.

Stick to your talking points. Stay on topic, and back them up with no more than five pages of materials that you can leave with your elected official.

Provide personal and local examples of the impact of the legislation.

Never make up an answer to a question. Giving wrong or inaccurate information can seriously damage your credibility!

Set deadlines for a response. Ask when you should check back to find out what your legislator intends to do about your request. If you need to get information to your legislator, set a clear timeline for when this will happen.

After the meeting

Compare notes with everyone in your group to understand what the elected official committed to do and what follow-up information you committed to send.

Each person who took part in the meeting should promptly send a personal thank you letter to the legislator.

If the elected official or staff member doesn't meet the deadline for action you agreed to during the meeting, ask him or her to set another deadline. Be persistent and flexible!

REQUEST A SPEAKER

The ACLU of Michigan provides speakers for nearly every occasion on a wide range of civil liberties issues. Our leading civil liberties and civil rights experts can come to your school, university, professional or community group meetings. Our speaking engagements vary from large forums of several hundred to smaller meetings, from rallies to panel discussions.

If you would like to request a speaker for your school, community group, or organization, please include the following details so we can match our speakers with your group’s needs:

Date

Time

Location

Subject

Number of participants

Please contact us at least 3 weeks in advance of your meeting. We will contact you as soon as possible to confirm the details.